Despite the Cortese grape being around since the 18th century, this wine is not as well known as the Barberas and the Moscatos. Similar to all wine production, fermentation for Cortese grapes is a natural process in which released yeast digests the sugars, producing carbon dioxide. The expertise in the science and art of winemaking ia demonstrated by how well the wine maker controls this end-to-end process. Also critical to wine excellence is the quality of the grapes. Roberto Urscheler builds on traditional Cortese wine production methods by growing his Cortese grapes in optimum conditions on extremely hilly slopes with appropriate exposures. He produces two brands of this interesting wine with grapes exclusively selected from his Cortese vines. Cortese Alto Monferrato DOC is a still wine that has an intense straw colour, a delicate aroma, and a dry, fresh and harmonious palate.
The Cortese Alto Monferrato DOC IL Mosso is a dry frizzante wine endowed with great structure and personality. Roberto subjects these grapes to a soft pressing before they undergo temperature-controlled stainless steel fermentation. This allows him to preserve the great aromas of the grapes, which gives this particular wine such good character. Despite its complexity, this wines is easy to drink and best drunk quite young.
As they are not produced in large quantities they make an interesting and refreshing alternative to some of the better known dry white wines. We recommend you try them.
| Cortese Still | £71.88 12 bottle case (£5.99 per bottle) plus £10 post & packing | |
| Cortese frizante | £71.88 12 bottle case (£5.99 per bottle) plus £10 post & packing |
Cortese wine typically has an aromatic, slightly acidic bite. Light straw yellow in colour, often with green hues, it is a dry, fresh and harmonic wine, where the alcoholic content and the balanced acidity guarantee a fresh and crisp taste; pleasantly bitter, it’s fruity and fragrant, with a persistent, complex bouquet of scents, including banana, apricot and fresh hay. It delivers a long and elegant aftertaste.
Cortese is well paired with hors d’oeuvres, light fish, shellfish, pasta, risotto, vegetable dishes, bruschetta and light snacks. The dry frizzante Il Mosso is especially delightful as a refreshing drink to have on its own, and either of these wines can be enjoyed as an aperitif.
Download version of tasting notes here
Variety of grapes: 100 % Cortese
Production area: Mombaruzzo
Appellation: DOC
Alcohol by volume: 11.5%
Soil: calcareous, clayey
Harvesting: mid September
Fermentation: 7–8 days
Ageing: not recommended
(drink within 1 year of purchase)
Bottling: in springtime
Serving temperature: 7°–12° C when still young
11°–13° C lightly aged.
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If you plan to visit the region, we can arrange guided tours and private tastings through our sister site www.stayinpiedmont.com, who also offer luxury B&B and apartment rental accommodation.
